Chapter 6: Echoes of the forgotten

Darkness loomed, thick and suffocating, swallowing the nameless entity in its endless abyss. The Crucible of Echoes had quieted, yet the air still crackled with energy—lingering remnants of the Trial it had just endured. The echoes had faded, but their words remained, pressing against its mind like an unseen weight.

"You are not meant to claim the Forge."

The voice from before haunted the entity, but it had no time for hesitation. The ground beneath its feet trembled, shifting like a beast waking from slumber. The fabric of reality twisted. The Crucible was not done with it yet.

A sudden pull—deep and visceral—gripped its core, wrenching it forward. The world twisted, and the entity was no longer standing on solid ground. It was falling.

The air rushed past, whipping against its form. It couldn't tell how long it fell, nor if it was falling through space or time itself. The void around it flickered, shifting between worlds.

Then, the descent stopped.

It landed hard. Not on stone or dirt, but something else—something unnatural. The impact sent a shockwave through its body, but no pain followed. Slowly, it pushed itself up, its ember flaring weakly.

It was standing on a vast platform of cracked obsidian, stretching into the endless dark. Faint, glowing inscriptions lined the surface, pulsing with an eerie rhythm. The light from them reflected against something ahead.

A figure stood there, waiting.

It was human—or close to it.

Tall and draped in a cloak woven from shadows, the figure radiated an unsettling presence. Its face was obscured, a swirling void where its features should have been. But the entity could feel its gaze—an oppressive weight pressing against its very soul.

"You persist," the figure spoke, its voice devoid of warmth. "But persistence alone will not grant you passage."

The nameless entity didn't reply. Instead, it steadied itself, instincts screaming a warning. This was different from the previous illusions and echoes. This was real.

The figure raised its hand, and the air trembled. The inscriptions on the ground flared, and a sword manifested in the challenger's grasp—its blade forged from raw void energy, shifting between solid and intangible states.

The entity's ember pulsed. Something deep within it responded to the call of battle. Its form shifted slightly—just enough for a phantom glint of armor to flicker across its limbs before vanishing.

The challenger moved.

There was no warning.

The figure closed the distance instantly, blade already descending. The nameless entity barely reacted in time, shifting its weight and twisting away.

A thin line of black fire traced where the blade had cut the air. Had it been a fraction slower, its very essence would have been severed.

No room to breathe. The challenger pressed forward, striking again. The attacks were precise—relentless, yet controlled. Each slash sought not just to wound, but to erase.

The entity ducked, side-stepped, barely keeping ahead. It had no weapon—no sword or shield. Just its instincts.

Another swing.

This time, it reacted. A hand shot up, and something happened.

A force—raw and unseen—repelled the strike.

The impact sent both figures sliding backward. The entity stared at its hand, feeling the faint remnants of power lingering there. It had just blocked a void-forged weapon with nothing but will.

But it had no time to process. The challenger rushed again.

The ember within the entity flared—brighter than before.

It could feel it. The power locked away inside it was stirring. It wasn't at full strength yet—far from it—but something primal had begun to awaken.

The challenger lunged, blade whipping through the air.

This time, the entity didn't retreat. It stepped forward.

It raised a hand, and instinct took over.

A shockwave erupted, tearing through the space between them. The challenger's momentum broke, its form skidding to a halt.

For a split second, the void-shrouded figure hesitated.

The nameless entity saw the opening—and moved.

It slammed a fist into the challenger's torso.

A pulse of energy surged outward, the force rippling through the air like a shattered tide. The impact sent the challenger flying back, its body twisting unnaturally before skidding to a stop.

The ground beneath them cracked from the sheer force.

The entity breathed heavily, ember pulsing erratically.

It had struck something solid. Something real.

The challenger rose, slower this time. Its void-wrapped form flickered. For the first time, it spoke without its earlier certainty.

"So… you are beginning to remember."

The words sent a chill through the entity. It didn't respond, but something in its core resonated with those words.

Remember what?

The challenger stepped back, the blade dissolving from its grasp. It did not attack again. Instead, it raised its head toward the dark expanse above.

"The first trial ends."

A pulse of energy erupted across the realm. The obsidian platform began to shatter.

The nameless entity barely had time to react before the world around it collapsed.

Into the Unknown

It was falling again.

But this time, something was different.

The ember inside burned hotter. The flickers of power from before hadn't faded. If anything, they were growing.

The trial wasn't just about fighting.

It was about unlocking what had been lost.

The entity clenched its fists as it plunged deeper into the abyss. The shadows swirled around it, shifting, changing.

This was only the beginning.

The Forge still awaited.

And so did the truth.

End of Chapter 6